Saying Goodbye
by futureauthor13
Summary: He just had to face the truth. He was growing up, and he didn't really need Plank anymore. But was he making a mistake? Future fic. slight JxN


**This is my first EEnE, so be nice. Please review, but no flames. **

Johnny sighed. He forgot him again. He opened the door to his room and saw his friend sitting on his bed.

"Yeah, I know," said Johnny sadly, "Sorry Plank."

This wasn't the first time Johnny had forgot Plank. Ever since freshman year started, Johnny hadn't been hanging out with Plank as often. He now had many friends, including the Eds, May (Edd's girlfriend), and Nazz (his secret crush). But it didn't always use to be like this.

When he was five, he was the outsider in the Cul-Da-Sac. He was just the weird kid with the giant melon head. Johnny remembered this time very well, he also remembered when he had met Plank.

_Johnny was sitting on his porch sulking. He was so lonely, and he just wanted a friend. As he wiped away his tears, he saw something in the corner of his eye. A plain piece of wood. Probably from the fence Dad's building, thought Johnny. This piece of wood was different than the other pieces though. It was way shorter and was a brighter yellow. _

"_Hey Dad! Can I have this piece of wood?" yelled Johnny as he picked up the small piece of wood. _

"_Sure, it's no use to me," replied Johnny's dad. Johnny smiled at the piece of wood. "Hi there," he said to the wood. He then took the piece of wood up to his room where he drew two eyes and a mouth on it._

"_There you go, buddy," said Johnny to his new friend, "I'll call you.....Plank!"_

Johnny smiled at his memory. Plank had been his closest friend. Plank had even encouraged Johnny to make friends with the other kids of the Cul-Da-Sac. Pretty soon, he was friends with everyone, but Plank was still his closest friend. Plank was always there if Johnny was sad or lonely or just simply needed someone to talk to. To Johnny, Plank was like real person, even the other kids started to think so.

But around eighth grade, the kids started think differently. They didn't see Plank as a person anymore, just a piece of wood. Even his parents told him that they thought it was time Johnny said goodbye to Plank. But that just ended in a giant argument. But that summer, Johnny started to forget about Plank.

Sometimes if his friends invited him somewhere, Johnny would simply just forget to take Plank along. But there were other times that Johnny would just simply forget that he even had Plank. He would forget all about him until he went to bed when he saw Plank on the floor or on his dresser. Johnny felt guilty about this. But he felt more guilty about something else. When he would try talking to Plank like he did when he was a kid, he would feel silly.

"What am I thinking," said Johnny as he picked up Plank, "I'm still friends with you." Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his finger. "Ow! Dangit!" He had gotten a splinter. The funny thing is, he never used to get splinters from Plank. Or maybe I did and I just didn't notice, thought Johnny. He plucked the splinter out of his, now sore, finger. "Stupid Plank," he mumbled. His eyes widened. "Did I just say that?" he asked himself.

Johnny looked at the old piece of wood, and sighed. He just had to face facts. He was growing up, and Plank just seemed like a piece of wood to him now.

Johnny then grabbed Plank and headed downstairs, outside, to the trash can. Before he put Plank in the trash, Johnny looked into Plank's eyes. He felt so guilty about doing this. "Don't look at me like that!" said Johnny, "Besides, you're just a piece of wood."

And with that, Johnny dropped Plank into the trash, and walked away.

******

"Class dismissed," said the teacher. The teenagers quickly grabbed their things and ran out the door. All except one. Johnny just took his time getting his things and walked slowly outside. He just felt sad, like something was missing.

"Johnny?" Johnny turned around and smiled. It was Nazz. No matter how Johnny was feeling, Nazz always brightened up his day just a little.

"Hey Nazz," said Johnny.

"Are you okay?" asked Nazz, "You just seemed like, kind of down today in class."

"I'm fine."

"You sure you don't wanna like talk about it?"

"Well maybe, but what about your cheerleading practice?"

"Don't worry about that, it's okay for me to be late. So, what's wrong?" At first, Johnny didn't want to talk about it, thinking that Nazz might think that it was silly, but when he looked into her soft, caring eyes, he felt himself starting to talk.

"Well, yesterday I....threw away Plank."

"Plank?" repeated Nazz, "You still had him?"

"Yeah, I know," said Johnny feeling kind of embarrassed, "Pretty stupid, huh?"

"No! Actually, I'm kind of impressed," said Nazz. Johnny looked at her. "Impressed?"

"Yeah, most kids only hang out with their imaginary friends for a couple months. Heck, I only remembered my imaginary friend for a few weeks."

"You had an imaginary friend?!"

"Yeah, I made her up one day when I was feeling kind of lonely." Johnny let out a "Ha!", and Nazz shot him a glare.

"Sorry," he said, "I just can't picture you being lonely." For as long as Johnny could remember, Nazz had always been the popular girl.

"Yeah, well, there was a time where I was lonely. And there are even sometimes where I miss having my imaginary friend around, she was like my sister. But enough about me, why did you throw Plank away?"

"Well, you've heard what everyone's been telling me. I was getting to old for him. He used to feel like a real person, now it just seemed like he was just a piece of wood. Besides, I'm not as lonely as I was when I first had Plank, I don't really need him anymore..."

"But even though you don't need him, you still miss him, right?" Johnny looked at Nazz, like always, she was right.

"Yeah."

"You know Johnny," said Nazz, putting her hand on Johnny's shoulder, "Just because you may not need Plank anymore, doesn't mean you have to just throw him away. You and Plank have been friends for like ever. Even though you may not need him now, there will be some times when you'll want someone to talk to, or someone to just listen to you, and Plank will always be there for you. He's not just an imaginary friend, he's..."

"My best friend," said Johnny smiling. He looked at Nazz. "Thanks Nazz."

"No problem, Johnny," said Nazz, moving just a little bit closer to Johnny.

"Now if you'll excuse me," said Johnny, "I have to go get my friend. Good luck at practice!" And with that, Johnny quickly ran off, happily, towards his home.

******

"Hey buddy." Johnny took Plank out of the trash can. For the first time in what seemed like years, Plank seemed like a real person to him. Johnny took Plank upstairs and got a box. He put all his childhood memories inside it, leaving just enough room for Plank.

"Now you can at least rest in comfort," Johnny said to Plank, "But don't think that you're going to be in here forever." Before he put Plank in the box, Johnny gave him a quick hug, and then gently put him in the box.

Johnny did not feel guilty about doing this, because Johnny knew that Nazz would be right. Even though he wouldn't need him now, he would need him later, and Plank will be waiting for him.

Before Johnny left his room, he felt something on his finger. A splinter, that he hadn't noticed until now.

**Epilogue**

"Hey old friend," said a man as he lifted an old piece of wood out of a box. This piece of wood had gotten him through loneliness, heartbreak, and was also his closest friend. But now, it had another job.

The man took the piece of wood with him outside to the front porch, where his daughter, Natalie, was sitting, feeling a little lonely.

"Here you go, Nat," said the man as he gave the piece of wood to his daughter, "His name is Plank."

The girl smiled and turned to her dad. "I like him, he's cute." She then turned to Plank. "Hi. I'm Natalie, but everyone calls me Nat. You wanna be friends?"

Plank smiled at Nat, and she smiled back.

"I think you two are going to be great friends," said the man as he ruffled the girl's short, blonde hair. The girl giggled.

"Thanks Daddy! Come on Plank, let's go play!" And with that, she ran off, holding Plank.

The man smiled as his wife walked up behind him and hugged him. "Like father, like daughter," she said.

**The End**

**Okay, I hope this was good. I've never written an EEnE fanfic before, and I hope it was good. Again, please review, and Happy Holidays!**


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